Electric sign.



G. F. PEGLOW. ELECTRIC SIGN. APPLICATION FILED MAR 17, 1913.

1, 1 1 7,435. Patented Nov. 17, 1914 FIG]. 4 M

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WITNESSES.

I W VEMTOR unrrn GEORGE F. PEGLOW, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

ELECTRIC SIGN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

Application filed March 17, 1913. Serial No. 754.776.

1/ '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. Pnonow, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Electric Sign, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in electric signs of the class having a skeleton frame and a series of boxes detachably mounted on the frame and provided each with a letter upon its face and electric lights arranged to illuminate the letters.

The object of the invention is to make such signs fire-proof and more etlicicnt and serviceable by certain improvements upon the frame, the boxes and the connections between the various parts of. the sign, as will fully appear in the below description and claim, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing, in which,-

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a partly completed sign embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on the line aa Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the upper left corner of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 1 is a horizontal section on the line ?)b Fig. 3, of one of the boxes having a face showing a letter of the sign.

Referring to the drawing by reference numorals, 1 designates a foot or base of a frame composed of two upright tubular posts 2, having their upper ends closed by caps 33, and a series of pairs of horizontal tubular bars 1, 5, 6, and 7. Each horizontal bar is held to each post by the loop of a staple 8 having one leg passed through the post and provided with a nut 9 and the other and shorter leg, 8, guided in a hole in the side of the post (as best shown near the bottom of Fig. 2). The lower one of each pair of tubes is transversely intersected at any desired number of places and at each point of intersection is inserted a block 10 having in its rear side two sockets 11 and 12 (see Fig. 3) connected with electric wiring 13 extending through said tubes.

14: designates letters or cha 'acters detachably mounted on the frame, each of them comprises a box 14 having upon its rear side hooks 15 and 16 adapted to fit downwardly over the horizontal tubular frame bars; the hooks 16 are provided with set-screws 17 arranged to engage the adjacent tube and hold the box against accidental displacement. The front side or face of the box has the desired letter or character produced upon it in a white color and dotted by incandescent lamps 18 by which the face of the letter is illuminated. Said lamps are connected by wiring 1.9 inside the box but terminating in a plug 20 outside the box, so that by inserting said plug into the socket 11, 1-2 the current in the wire 13 will pass through all the lamps in the letter.

In order to reach the interior of the box 1 1, the latter has its rear side closed by a large downwardly slidable lid 21 provided with a finger catch 22 and made of sheet metal and held in normal position by its frictional contact with the grooves in which it slides when forced to move.

In the production and use of the sign, the blocks 10 may be few or many in each bar having such blocks according to the intended later changing and varying of the reading of the sign, and whenever such changing is to take place the plugs 20 are withdrawn, the screws 17 loosened and the box 14: removed and replaced by one having the desired letter, and the plug of the new letter inserted. If it is de sired to move letters in one line to the right or left less than the width of the box carrying the letter, then such adjusting may be done by loosening the staples 8 and sliding endwisc the horizontal bar containing the wiring 13 and switches 10, and then tightening the staples again by their nuts 9.

The sign may be put up by securing either the end or the rear edge of its base 1 to a post or a wall, as the posts 2 are firmly fixed in the base. If the sign is extra large, braces (not shown) may be extended from the posts 2 to the front of the building, as usually in hanging signs.

One of the several advantages of the construction set forth is that the entire sign is metallic so the electric wires in it can not possibly set fire to the sign, nor can they or the sign get much damaged by fire which may start in anything near the sign.

What I claim is In a sign of the class described, the combination with a skeleton frame having horizontal bars some of which are hollow, and electric sockets arranged along said hollow bars and connected to circuit wires extending into and longitudinally through the hollow bars, of boxes detachably suspended on the bars and having each a letter or other character upon its front side, electric Wiring in the box, electric lamps arranged to illuminate said letter or character and having electric connection with the Wiring Within the box, said Wiring extending beyond the box and provided with a plug adapted for in presence of tWo Witnesses.

GEORGE F. PEGLOW. "Witnesses WILLIAM W. FRY, Rosn LIPKE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

